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Pasadena leaders vote to oppose Metro plans to extend the 710 freeway

Corey Moore

Early morning traffic jams the entrance to the 710 Freeway in Alhambra, Calif. The city council voted Tuesday night to unanimously oppose three proposed routes that would extend the freeway, but cut through three neighborhoods in the process. Nick Ut/AP

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City council members mulled it over for weeks, but at a special meeting Tuesday night voted unanimously to take an official stand against three proposed routes that would extend the freeway but cut through Pasadena neighborhoods.

Hundreds of people showed up for the meeting at the Pasadena Convention Center, many of whom jeered Metro officials who tried to discuss the proposed routes. The crowd broke into applause when the council voted against the plans.

Metro has selected a dozen potential alternatives to connect the end of the 710 to the 210. By this fall it plans to narrow the list to five.

The fight over extending the 710 stretches back decades — and while transportation officials have proposed a variety of possible routes, but local opposition has always shot them down.